848 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Bought by Catalyst Financial Partners LLC

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 848 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $924,905,000 after acquiring an additional 30,013 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $799,792,000 after acquiring an additional 198,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,971 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $515,147,000 after purchasing an additional 84,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ PANW traded down $1.91 on Monday, hitting $348.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,620,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,413,625. The company’s 50-day moving average is $330.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.91. The stock has a market cap of $112.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $224.64 and a one year high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 2,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.41, for a total transaction of $660,601.83. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,860,076.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,372 shares of company stock valued at $118,440,693 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Northland Securities increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.49.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.